Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance of the human body. Traditionally, cosmetics have included skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, nail polish, eye and facial makeup, and so forth. The United States Food and Drug Administration (the FDA), which regulates cosmetics in the United States, broadly views a cosmetic as a substance that is intended to be applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance without significantly affecting the body's structure or functions.
Accumulation of fat stores in humans can occur unevenly in the body, which to certain individuals is considered to be a cosmetic blemish. For example, some persons may accumulate fat predominantly in visceral areas while others predominately in the subcutaneous tissue. Gender differences may also be apparent with women accumulating fat in the thighs and lateral buttocks and males in the waist. Women may accumulate fatty deposits of the thighs, which have a rumpled or “peau d' orange” appearance, resulting in a condition referred to as cellulite. Cellulite may be related to skin architecture which allows subdermal fat herniation, sometimes referred to as adipose papillae.